Job Discussion Forums

[auddin76]

Hi, I am thinking of teaching in Madrid. I am a native English speaker. I don't have a teaching certificate or a formal understanding of the rules of English grammar, nor do I know the vocabulary to explain them.

I am quite happy to learn if formal understanding and explaining of grammatical rules will help my students; however, I can't see how. Making reference to, and explaining in terms of, grammar and grammarian vocabualry would only confuse and bore the average student. If the student was a linguist and I spoke her native tongue, I could see how she would benefit from statements like "An independent clause is characterized by having a subject and predicate without any words or phrases that link the function of that clause to another clause, causing the first clause to become dependent upon the other clause for its greater meaning..."

Contribution from wise teachers would be greatly appreciated here. Thanks!

[spiral78]

You will probably want to consider a certification course before jumping into the teaching scene. In the process of taking a CELTA or equivalent, you'll learn the answers to the questions you've asked here - and many other practical classroom issues.

On a more practical note, there are lots of teachers in Spain - and most of them have certification. Without it, I think you'll be at some disadvantage on the job market - and in the classroom!

[rafaella]

You do need to know the rules and terminology of English grammar but you also need to know how to convey those rules in ways which are easy to understand. The explanation in your original post would probably leave a fair number of native speakers scratching their heads. It definitely wouldn't be suitable in the EFL classroom!

However, there's more to being a competent teacher than knowing your subject and being able to explain it. A qualification such as CELTA or Trinity will cover not only grammar terminology but also other important skills which a teacher should have.

Getting a teaching qualification will equip you with the basics to get you started. You will be at a disadvantage when job hunting (and when you walk into class) if you don't have those skills.

If nothing else, you owe it to your students (who are paying good money to be there) to be a capable teacher.

[mozzar]

Generally it can be useful if after having worked with the language a bit, they would like some grammatical knowledge just to back it up. You wouldn't need to explain it in such terms but most students will know the basic (or even complex) grammar structures from school and you'd look foolish standing there if they asked you to explain the perfect tenses and you couldn't.

Fun is important but so is grammar. Mixing the two is the best way.